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ALTA GRACIA APPAREL NOW AVAILABLE AT THE UH BOOKSTORE

Can the
“hoodie” in your closet help clothe
an entire family living thousands of
miles away? Could the next T-shirt
you buy change someone’s life?

The answer to both questions is
“yes” thanks to a partnership
between apparel manufacturer Alta
Gracia and Barnes & Noble College
Booksellers, LLC.

Alta Gracia (a division of Knights
Apparel) produces emblematic,
high-quality T-shirts and fleece
garments which are available at the
UH bookstore managed by Barnes &
Noble. What makes Alta Gracia so
remarkable is their industry-leading
commitment to provide workers with a
sustainable standard of living and
the opportunity to raise their
families out of poverty.

Manufactured in a factory in the
Dominican Republic (DR), every Alta
Gracia employee receives benefits
and a living wage. This “living
wage” is 340 percent above the DR’s
minimum wage for apparel workers and
certified by the Workers Rights
Consortium (WRC) as sufficient to
cover the following expenses for a
family of four:

This “living wage” also includes
funds for savings and miscellaneous
discretionary spending.

Alta Gracia is the result of a
multi-year project involving Knights
Apparel, leading independent labor
rights groups, NGO’s, Health and
Safety experts, unions and Barnes &
Noble. This remarkable and
collaborative endeavor was recently
profiled in the New York Times and
has received praise from different
industry and labor groups.

“For a major retailer like Barnes &
Noble to lend its enthusiastic support
to this initiative is very
heartening and we commend the
company’s leadership,” say Scott
Nova of the WRC.

“We are very proud to be a part of
this endeavor and to offer our
students another opportunity to
purchase high-quality merchandise
that was manufactured with a high
regard for workers rights,” says UH
Bookstore Manager, Felix Robinson.

Barnes and Noble requires every
campus bookstore supplier to adhere
to the Fair Labor Association’s (FLA)
Code of Conduct which includes rules
on monitoring and reporting on the
situation of workers in garment
factories around the world. Barnes &
Noble is a longstanding member of
the FLA where they are part of the
group’s Industry Caucus. They were
also the first retail member of the
FLA’s University Advisory Council’s
Student Advisory Committee.

Alta Gracia is also committed to
fully respecting the workers’ right
to freedom of association,
collective bargaining and the right
to organize. To ensure ongoing
compliance and transparency, Alta
Gracia is working with the
Maquiladora Health and Safety
Support Network, Dominican Labor
Federation, and Fedotrazonas to
provide ongoing verification of the
wages, benefits and working
conditions in the Alta Gracia
factory.

Alta Gracia clothing can now be
purchased at the UH Bookstore at the
University Center the UH Fan Shop at
the Athletic/Alumni Building. They
will also be made available at the
Calhoun Lofts and Sugar Land stores
soon. Purchases can also be made
through the bookstore’s website
http://uh.bncollege.com.